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SUBJECT: Records Retention

ALPHANUMERIC IDENTIFIER:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Records retention refers to the requirements and the system in place to ensure that an entity maintains and can access certain documents. Documents maintained might include those required by government entities such as OSHA and the IRS as well as the company’s internal documents that must be stored to ensure such things as lot traceability.

KEYWORDS: records retention, lot traceability, OSHA, back office

OVERVIEW:

The back office of any manufacturing facility should have a clearly stated record retention policy and corresponding set of procedures to ensure the facility complies with company and government requirements while minimizing costs. Government agencies such as OSHA, require companies to maintain a voluminous number of documents. OSHA requires everything from chemical usage and disposal records to maintaining records of job-related accidents. Management must know what all government agencies require. Another major set of documents necessary for some industries includes records that allow for low traceability (see related subject note.) A clearly communicated policy for dealing with each of these the types of documents will ensure that the company gains the most from its records.

Relationship to Best Practices and Lean Manufacturing

Best document retention procedures rely on policies to use electronic records, to eliminate duplicate copies, to purge old document as needed, and to make information rapidly available to those that require it. Electronic records benefit the entire organization by taking less space and facilitating retrieval by a number of parties. Studies show that eliminating duplicate copies can eliminate up to 40% of all recorded pieces of information. Purging old documents also helps to reduce the quantity that must be managed. Some documents are simply never needed, while others can be moved to offsite archives because the low likelihood of needing retrieval. Additionally, old documents can serve as a liability in lawsuits; unnecessary documents are best elimiated. By following these practices, companies will gain efficiencies, offer quicker more reliable customer service and reduce costs associated with records retention.

Changes Influencing the Subject

Companies are realizing that document retention can be more than a cost center if managed appropriately. It enables management to more quickly respond to customers’ questions thus becoming a service differentiator. A more organized system inherently serves as a check to ensure a facility complies with government regulations more easily. Finally, the advent of electronic documentation management systems greatly assists companies with the ever-growing amount of documentation that they must maintain.

REFERENCES:

• "Establishing a Document Retention Program." Risk Management, v40n12, Dec. 1993, pp.72.
• "The Fundamentals of Records Management." Office Systems, v16n1, Jan. 1999, pp. 30-36.
• "Megatrends in Records Management." Records Management Quarterly, v31n1, Jan. 1998, pp. 3-9.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: This is a March 29, 1999 revision by Gene Goodson of an assignment for OM742 contributed by David Wooll.